I’m so happy to share with you some beautiful pictures of Russian children. The father-photographer took them in the 1970s in the former Soviet Union. With the death of President George Herbert Walker Bush on November 30, Mikhail Gorbachev has officially outlived both American presidents he served counter to during the final chapter of the […]
Revealing Letter From Russian Gen-Xer on Latchkey, Soviet Childhood
Editor’s Note: The following post was originally a comment about the Soviet childhood left on the Who Is Generation X page. I thought it offered a revealing and fascinating glimpse into life for Soviet and Russian youth and children who came of age during the 1970s to 1990s. Many thanks and godspeed to the author. […]
1980s Pen Pals Revisited: Helga’s Pictures and Letters from Germany, 1981
Of Scrapbooks and 1980s Pen Pals Here is my old scrapbook from my high school and college days. The days before mounting squares and acid-free paper were easily found. I glued and Scotch-taped cards, letters, pictures, track ribbons, corsage ribbons, and ephemera to the gray, construction paper pages. This is where I’ve kept Helga’s letters […]
OKC Bombing, Berlin Wall Among Top Historic Events for Generation X
The Fall of the Berlin Wall, the Oklahoma City Bombing and the Challenger Disaster are among the top 12 historic events for Generation X, according to a new survey conducted by the Pew Research Center in association with A+E Networks’ History. Here are the events in order of their significance to Generation X: September 11, 2011 (9/11) Obama […]
Magical Cold War Russian Family Photos
In November 1985, President Reagan arrived in Geneva, Switzerland for a summit with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. They met on the 19th and the meeting proved historic. The anniversary inspired me to look for some photos of Russians during that period of time. I came across a wonderful album on Flickr that belongs to Konstantin […]
Samantha Smith Exhibit
Yesterday, was the 30th anniversary of the death of Samantha Smith. In 1983, Smith, an American schoolgirl, wrote a letter to Yuri Andropov, the Soviet Prime Minister. Dear Mr. Andropov, My name is Samantha Smith. I am ten years old. Congratulations on your new job. I have been worrying about Russia and the United States […]
Moscow, 1985
I’ve been thinking a lot about the Cold War since the Russian invasion of Crimea. December 1985 seems like an absolute lifetime ago. What were you doing then?